Now let’s learn a little more about our new friend by making friends with the Ubuntu desktop and Unity 3D taskbar. Like everything about Ubuntu, it is fully customizable. For now let’s take a look at what the default settings look like.

The first button, called “dashboard” acts similar to the search box in Windows. Here you can type the first letters of your application and you get it instantly without having to go through menus.

Ubuntu comes with tons of free applications to cover all of your needs, but you can always add more later by looking in the Ubuntu Software Center. [3]

Click the Ubuntu folder button and you will open a window similar to Windows Explorer.

You will also see a web browser button (Mozilla Firefox is the default browser.)

The Libre Office buttons will open Writer ( similar to Word), Calc (similar to Excel), and Impress (similar to PowerPoint).

The Software Center Button is very like a combination of the add/remove programs panel in Windows and the Windows Store.

Finally, the Terminal Button (the Terminal window can also be called up by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T). This is where you can input commands, if needed.

Now in the upper right of your screen, you’ll see some icons similar to the status bar in Windows. By default, you’ll see your Internet connection status, volume, time and an icon that allow you quickly access settings and the shutdown menu. Like everything else in Ubuntu, it can be customized.

Now give it a try. Play around! You will be amazed at this operating system’s speed and reliability.